Mandiri disburses over Rp 12t in telecom loans

JAKARTA: Bank Mandiri says it disbursed Rp 12.16 trillion (US$ 1.35 billion) in loans to the telecommunications sector in 2010, up 20 percent from Rp 10.16 trillion in 2009.

Supriyusman, executive vice president of corporate banking at Mandiri, the nation’s largest lender by assets, said in a statement released on Wednesday that the bank saw growth potential in the nation’s telecommunications sector because “telecommunications are a facility that’s really needed to support a number of activities.”

Indonesia is home to over 230 million people whose needs for telecommunications continue to grow, supported by the presence of 11 telephone providers in the world’s fourth most populous country.

“Indonesia is geographically very unique with a huge population spread across several regions, all needing good telecommunications infrastructure. Low penetration, especially for the Internet, shows great expansion opportunity for the industry,” Supriyusman said. — JP